Roofing-tile



(No Model.)

G. A. TAYLOR.

ROOFING TILE. V y 7 No. 553,321 PatentedJan. 21, 1896,

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ANDREW BJERAHAM. mo'ro-umuwnsnmcmunc,

UNITED STAT S PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. TAYLOR, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

ROOFING-TILE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 553,321, dated January 21, 1896.

Application filed May 23, 1895. serial No. 550,446. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE A. TAYLOR, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Roofing-Tiles, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in roofing-tiles.

The object of my improvements is to provide a roofing-tile that is adapted to be looked upon the roofing-strip and also upon the adjacent tiles,without the aid-of nails, screws, or such fastening devices, and present a substantially flat roofing-surface that may be trodden on without liability of disarrangement, and that will provide a tight roof.

Referring to the drawings, on which like reference letters indicate corresponding parts, Figure 1 represents a plan view of a number of tiles arranged on the roofing-strips to form a roof; Fig. 2, a section along the line 00 0c of Fig. 1; Fig. 2, a similar section on the line 3 y, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a detailed perspective view of my improved tile, and Fig. 4 a tile of thin durable material stamped in one piece.

The letter A represents the roofing-strips separated a suitable distance, and adapted to support the tiles B thereon, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This tile is flat trapezoidal in plan View, the non -parallel edges forming the tapering sides with turned-up edges 0, Fig. 3, forming cut-under border-strips that approach each other, as shown in the plan View, Fig. 1. The out-er edges are acute-angled, and the inclination of the strips is such that the narrower end of one tile will fit into the larger end of the adjacent tile and overlap the latter, as shown at the left of Fig. 1. When the tiles are thus placed with their edges 0 upward, they form a chute for the water, and the said edge-strips prevent the leakage of the water sidewise. Another series of tiles, similarly arranged with their borders upward, leave an open space which is covered by reversing the tiles and placing their borders downward and smaller ends upward, so as to lock with the tiles below, as shown in Fig. 1. Thus by placing the tiles alternately, as shown in Fig. 1, their lateral edges lock with each other and form a joint at the sides, preventing the entrance of rain, even when driven by the wind. The ends of the tiles are also looked, however, and this is a special feature of my improved tile. The larger end has upon its back, Fig. 3, a hooklike projection D that engages with the roofing-strip, as shown in Fig. 2, and retains each tile in position without the aid of nail, screw, or other fastening device separate from the tile itself. The smaller end of the tile, when lapping inside the larger end, likewise engages with a projecting hook E upon the face of the tile a little distance down from the larger end. The hook E assists the border-strips C in looking the smaller end of the tile.

hen the tile is reversed and the back or flat side is uppermost, as shown at the right of Fig. 1, the hook D is uppermost and does not interfere with the adjacent tiles. The hook E, however, hooks under the upper end of the tile below it in each case and thus locks the larger end of the tile, which is placed downward in the reversed position. Fig. 2 shows this engagementof the hook E with the smaller end of the tile below. Thus, the hook E serves to lock the smaller end of the adjacent tile with the tile of which it forlnsapart, whether the two tiles thus locked are located face upward, as shown at the left of Fig. 1, or rcversely, and spanning the adjacent rows or edges, as shown at the right in the same figure. This arrangement dispenses with other locking means than are carried by the tile itself, and secures an end lock as well as a lateral lock of each tile upon each adjacent one. The ends as well as the sides of the tiles being thus secured are not readilydisengaged and may be safely trodden on. The snow and ice that may collect under the overlapping edges 0 are not liable to force their way up the matching-surface and over the border 0 of the lower tile, and the lower larger end of the reversed tile is securely fastened down upon its mates by the hook E.

I have shown, Fig. 4, and indicated in Fig. 3by dotted lines, the tile as formed of considerable thickness, as it may be pressed or cast from clay, cement, or other durable material; but thin material, such as copper, galvanized iron, or granite ware may be employed, and the hooks D and E stamped in the same and the border-edges C turned upward to-act for the same purpose and in the same way, as previously described. The hookE when thus stamped in ductile material may be indented or bulged outward from the face without forming an opening for the leakage of water. hen formed of flexible material, such as copper or zinc, the hook D will be stamped from the same surface as the body and then bent downward to engage with the roofingstrip A when the tile is placed face upward, but remains in its straight position when the tile is reversely located. Fig. 3 indicates by dotted lines the position of the hook D when thus formed of flexible material. I have thus shown and described my device as notlimited to'any special kind of material, as I wish to be understood as claiming any durable material'that may be cast, pressed, or shaped into substantially the form-and arrangement herein illustrated.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim'as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1'. An improved reversible roofing tile consistingof a fiat body plate with side edges approaching each other having raised inwardly inclin edborder strips'formingholding grooves for slidingly interlocking adjacent tiles when reversed thereon, and a raised hook on the same face inclined toward the larger end, adapted to engage the adjacent tile above or below, according to whether the hook extends upward or is reversed and extends downward in its interlocking arrangement onthe roof.

2. An improved reversible roofing tile consisting of a trapezoidal body plate having raised hooking edges on the non-parallel-sides formingunder-cut border strips, a hook between said strips on the same face inclined toward the nearest end, and a longer hook at the same end on the other face inclined toward the farther end.

3. A roof tile consisting of a body plate with non-parallel side edges which are raised from one face and inclined backward toward the center, a raised hook from the same face near to and inclined toward the wider end, and an oppositely acting hook extending from the other face at the same end, whereby a plurality of tiles of the same pattern may be arranged and interlocked, substantially as described.

4. A tile roof composed of body plates 13 adapted to slidingly lock with each other by the side edge strips C, and a hook E adjacent to the wider end and looking with the'bottom of the upper tile in one position, and the top of the lower tile when in reversed position, and a hook D extending from the other face at the same end and adapted to hook on the roof strips in one position,and to clear the other tile in the reversed position thereof, sub stantially as described.

5. As an improved article of manufacture, a trapezoidal roofing tile formed in one piece with interlocking side strips doubly reversible, and retaining and interlocking hooks, whereby tiles of the same pattern may be reversed endfor end, and upside-down and will interlock with adjacent tiles and with the supporting roof strips, without other fastening devices therefor.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE A. TAYLOR. Witnesses:

D. P. LITTLE, H. M. PLAISTED. 

